thanks for such a prompt and helpful response, my initial research was to find the origin of the surname King-Spooner.......Thomas who went by the surname Spooner as well as King Spooner shows on ancestry.com records as birthplace Wicklow Ireland 1856. He was married and divorced a few times in his life so the mention of him being a bachelor is quite feasible, my quandary is that there is also mention of a Thomas King Spooner being born in Islington, London UK around 1857 who also has a father named Edgar Spooner born in 1813, I think this if it is a coincidence is quite remarkable but am inclined to think it is the same person.....at least now I've discovered a register of death and will try to unearth the correct birthplace regards Griff